Digital Commons Network^™

Swine Solutions: Enhancing Ffa Supervised Agricultural Experience Projects, Hannah M. Daily, Dr. John Michael Mehaffey, Dr. Candis Scallan, Dr. Amy Mehaffey, Dr. Joe Mask

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is a portion of the three-circle model of agriculture education, providing experiential learning opportunities for students. The immersion SAE encourages students to build upon foundational learning components in a real-world application. A popular area of the immersion SAE includes ownership of market swine being raised for exhibition. This study serves as a pilot mentorship program for agricultural science educators and students, creating an educational resource encouraging record-keeping techniques and skill development, leading to eventual independence from the student’s standpoint. The model for the Swine Solutions Program includes utilization of the provided handbook, completion of daily observation …

Responsibility To The Land: Perspectives Of Farmers On Climate Change And Land Transition, Meira A. Smit

Environmental Studies Honors Projects

Agriculture is a defining aspect of Minnesota and Wisconsin’s culture and identity, characterized by family farms, rolling hills blanketed with crops, and cows. Interspersed are small scale diversified farms and a growing number of emerging and young farmers. Another cultural mainstay is talking about weather, a ubiquitous conversation of Midwesterners. As weather events such as erratic rainfall, drought, and pest pressure become both more common and volatile, and long-term weather patterns shift from “normal”, it is important to ask farmers what they think about it. Adapting to changes and planning for resilience are what farmers have always done, yet increasing …

Fields Under The Hoof: Characterizing Plant Cultivation Of Agropastoralists In Bronze And Iron Age Inner Asia (3000 Bce - 1000 Ce), Melissa Ritchey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the agropastoral practices in the Eurasian landmass between the 3rd millennium BCE to 1st millennium CE, focusing on characterizing how communities living in mountainous Inner Asia incorporated plant cultivation into their mobile agropastoralist lifestyle. I examine macrobotanical remains from key archaeological sites along the routes of the trans-Eurasian exchange of domesticated plants and animals and various technologies during the Bronze and Iron Ages. These sites include Chap, Kyrgyzstan, Tasbas, Kazakhstan, and Dingdong, Piyang, Jiweng, Kaerdong, and Bangga, located in Tibet. I use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of archaeological plant remains and macrobotanical assemblages to assess …

Reap What You Sow: Using Historic Enrollment Data To Strategically Recruit Students, Hayden Cherry

Honors Theses

As the higher education landscape continues to become more competitive, adapting our marketing strategies to affordably recruit students will be imperative to maintaining both relevance and financial stability. Research has predicted an increase in tension as institutions weather the enrollment cliff, a period characterized by a steep decline in the number of college-age students in the United States. While this research is useful in informing our outlook in the coming years, there is little research surrounding the most efficacious methods for recruiting college students. Using data from Mississippi State University's Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness on student status and …

A Case Study On Readiness Of Engineers In Agricultural Technology Start-Ups, Katie Marie Mowat

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the perceptions of practicing engineers regarding the skills necessary to be workforce-ready at agricultural technology (ag-tech) start-ups in the Midwestern United States. A qualitative case study methodology is leveraged, combining both interview and job description data. Given their uniqueness, the study divides the ag-tech start-up industry into two subcases: livestock and cropping systems. The Work Readiness Integrated Competence Model (WRICM) is used as the theoretical framework for this study and informs the conceptual framework and analysis processes. The study identified skills that fit into thirteen distinct categories, which are further grouped into four overarching resource groups. Skills …

Gene Editing Approaches To Improving Grain Amino Acid Profiles In Maize And Sorghum, Joseph Preston Hurst

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Maize grain is deficient in lysine. While the opaque2 mutation increases grain lysine, o2 is a transcription factor that regulates a wide network of genes beyond zeins, which leads to pleiotropic and often negative effects. Additionally, the drastic reduction in 19kDa and 22kDa alpha-zeins causes a floury kernel, unsuitable for agricultural use. Sorghum, closely related to maize, has a similar lack of lysine that can be corrected with prolamin alteration and also subject to the same deleterious kernel texture. CRISPR/cas9 gives researchers the ability to directly target genes of interest. In this research, gene editing was used to specifically target …

Exploring The Role Of Influencer Marketing In The Animal Health Industry: A Content Analysis Of Strategies And Impact, Haylee Henry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A review of literature revealed a lack of peer-reviewed research on influencer marketing within the animal health and nutrition industry, specifically within the livestock sector. This study aimed to address this gap by analyzing how animal health and nutrition companies of different sizes utilized influencer marketing and how consumers interacted with content tailored to influencer marketing. A content analysis was conducted. This study collected and analyzed social media influencer posts from eight North American animal health and nutrition companies, three small, three medium, and two large, between January 2023 and December 2024. Influencer content included posts by individuals, partner organizations, …

Determination Of Optimal Parameters For Quality Drying Of Garlic Using The Vibro-Convective Method, Jasur Safarov, Shakhnoza Sultanova, Abdurakhmon Mirkomilov

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

This article examines the process of drying garlic using a low-temperature vibratory-convective drying system. At the "Service Technology" department of Tashkent State Technical University, a vibratory dryer was developed to ensure high-quality drying of garlic while maximizing the preservation of its biologically active compounds. Through experimental studies, optimal drying parameters were determined, including the degree of moisture removal, process duration, airflow velocity, and vibration acceleration. The results obtained contribute to enhancing the efficiency and quality of garlic drying, which holds practical significance for agricultural producers and consumers interested in healthy nutrition.

Cultivating A New Agricultural Ethos: An Environmentalist Reading Of John Steinbeck And Barbara Kingsolver, Will Fletcher

English Honors Theses

This thesis examines the agricultural criticisms of John Steinbeck in conversation with those of Barbara Kingsolver. It argues that Kingsolver answers Steinbeck’s agricultural criticisms in her own works with a vision of an improved food system that benefits farmers, consumers, and the environment. The first chapter looks at the 1939 classic The Grapes of Wrath, arguing that Steinbeck levels four main criticisms against industrial agriculture, all of which point towards a social movement aimed at protesting against the exploitation of the natural world. The second chapter opens with a dialogue between Steinbeck (informed by The Grapes of Wrath and Travels …

Impacts Of Climate Change On Cannibalism And Disease Transmission In The Fall Armyworm, Kale Rougeau

LSU Master's Theses

Climate change may alter host-pathogen dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems due to rising global temperatures and carbon dioxide levels. Here, we examined cannibalism and disease transmission using the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), an invasive agricultural pest, and its species-specific lethal baculovirus, Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV), under various potential challenges of climate change. We used three temperature treatments (cooler, optimal, warmer) based on the fall armyworm’s thermal performance curve to simulate a changing climate and four artificial diets with various protein-to-carbohydrate ratios (low, equal, high, standard) to manipulate resource quality from altered carbon dioxide levels. We found that higher …

Windmills As Symbols Of Economic Development And Progress In West Texas From 1860 To 2011, Stacy Taylor

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The outline of a windmill against the sky is a popular image of Texas found on many forms of media including illustrations, photographs, and other print media. How did the image of a windmill become symbolic to Texas? The purpose of this paper is to determine how and why windmills became an important symbol representing the Texas Plains. Methodology used included analysis of scientific information to explore the geography of Texas, which demonstrated why windmills were needed in West Texas. Critical analysis of journals and books were performed to determine the history of the introduction and evolving use of windmills …

Risks In The Sri Lankan Banana Supply Chain: Analysis Through An Interpretive Structural Modeling, Shanaka Rajakaruna, Alawathuge Wijeratne

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

Although banana is an important fruit in Sri Lanka that gives a good income to farmers. Researchers have indicated that the majority of the crop is damaged from the farm gate to the consumer table. Accordingly, this research was addressed ‘to find the risks of the banana supply chain in Sri Lanka. The Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach was used in this research to find the risks in the banana supply chain of Sri Lanka. According to the literature survey and data analysis, several risks such as human and personal, production, financial, land prices, biological and environmental, information, political, weather-related, …

Impact Of The Domestic Labor Market On Sustainability Of Agriculture In Oman, Hemesiri Bandara Kotagama, Hamam Al-Farsi

Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences

Undistorted factor markets are a perquisite for efficient allocation of resources and growth in production. In Oman by 2013, only 16% of households have reported agriculture as the main occupation and 53% have reported nonagricultural government employment as the main occupation. This situation is hypothesized to be related to the labor market; where government legislated higher remuneration in the nonagricultural government sector vis-a-vis agricultural sector, influences Omani farmers to move to nonagricultural employment, causing reduced cultivated area and farm production. The study uses operations research methods to quantify the impact of labor market policies on agricultural employment, farm gross income …

What Do We Know About Insect Responses To Global Change? A Review Of Meta-Analyses On Global Change Drivers, Mayra C. Vidal, Mariana Abarca, Kristi Backe, Anne E. Curé, Deborah L. Finke, Amanda M. Koltz, Alycia C.R. Lackey, J. Christina Mitchell, Rebecca M. Prather, Ellen A.R. Welti, Gina M. Wimp, Shannon M. Murphy

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

1. Global change is causing major declines in biodiversity, especially of insects. Scientific interest in global change impacts on insects has increased in recent years, resulting in many different meta-analyses examining questions within this topic.

2. We performed a comprehensive review of meta-analyses examining the effects of global change stressors on insects to identify well-studied questions and gaps in our knowledge and synthesise the responses of insects to those stressors. We identified 75 meta-analyses that fit our scope, accounting for 905 meta-results and spanning 18 global change stressors.

3. Our synthesis identified several global change stressors that are relatively well-studied …

Profiles Of East Frisian (German) Pioneers Who Settled The Prairie In Turner County, South Dakota, Derek M. Heeren

Genealogy Resources

Summary

Hundreds of East Frisian Pioneers from northwest Germany came to the Lennox-Chancellor East Frisian settlement in southeastern South Dakota at the end of the nineteenth century. Their ethnic heritage and pioneering spirit are illustrated with stories of the Plucker, Carlson, DeNeui, and Heeren families. The events of the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s are highlighted with a focus on the Pioneer Generation (born between 1840 and 1869). This genealogy paper is written primarily for descendants of East Frisians who are studying family history, but it may be of interest to anyone who wonders what life was like for the Pioneers …

Integrating E-Commerce To Reduce Postharvest Losses In Rural Cameroon, Maurice Tchasso

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

E-commerce has the potential of assisting the agriculture market to curb postharvest losses by connecting new and existing customers to agricultural products more efficiently. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of successful farmers in rural Cameroon to obtain insights into the e-commerce factors and strategies they use to manage and reduce postharvest losses. The study sample was 20 rural Cameroonian farmers using e-commerce in reducing postharvest losses. The conceptual framework for this study was Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory. The data collection occurred through virtual interviews with the participants and their …

The Sustainability Stones: Culturally Embedded Conservation Strategies And Their Vulnerability In Maupiti, French Polynesia, Russell Fielding, Fiona Gimenez

Honors College Faculty Publications

This paper explores culturally embedded conservation strategies through the lens of the traditional agroforestry and fisheries cycles in Maupiti, French Polynesia. By pairing certain breadfruit cultivars with specific fish species, the island’s community created a culinary system that regulates the seasonal consumption of marine resources, making the sustainable use of those resources more likely. While modern pressures such as reduced breadfruit diversity, competition with imported foods, and climate change have weakened these traditional practices, they remain an example of local ecological knowledge guiding conservation. The study highlights the threat of losing sustainable resource-use practices and biodiversity as both biodiversity and …

The 1996 Excavations Along The Northern Hill At Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 1–19), Amir Gorzalczany

'Atiqot

Excavations on the Northern Hill at Tel Mikhal revealed rich finds, in stark contrast with the poorly preserved and scant architectural remains. The earliest settlement here dates to prehistoric times, continuing into the Middle Bronze Age, when a ceramic industry operated at the site. In the Iron Age, settlement was sporadic, and mainly winepresses were unearthed. Toward the end of the Persian period, the area functioned as an industrial area for pottery production and a metal industry, as well as an area for storage and commerce. In the Hellenistic period, the site was also used for industry and storage. No …

Agricultural Drought Mitigation In Carroll County, Maryland, Teresa Kaltenbacher

The Geographical Bulletin

Carroll County, with its longstanding tradition in agriculture, has had many past experiences with drought. This paper examines drought as it pertains to the farming community in the county. Precipitation statistics for the past 30 years are analyzed in context of the drought occurring in the summer of 1991. Crop loss and the subsequent implementation of federal emergency relief programs by the administering agencies within Carroll County are investigated and an assessment of their overall effectiveness is determined. Various coping strategies and perceptions of drought on an individual level are explored based on a field interview with a Carroll County …

Agricultural Resources Conservation Fund (Arcf) 2025 Biennial Report Submitted To The Tennessee General Assembly, Tennessee. Department Of Agriculture.

Agricultural Resources Conservation Fund (ARCF) Biennial Report

No abstract provided.

Remains From The Hellenistic Through The Late Ottoman–British Mandate Periods In The Magen Avraham Compound, Yafo (Jaffa) (Pp. 245–277), Yoav Arbel, Lior Rauchberger

'Atiqot

The excavation in the Magen Avraham Compound exposed the remains of Yafo’s agricultural hinterland during the Hellenistic, Byzantine and Crusader periods. Seven strata were exposed, including a single Hellenistic-period wall, a Byzantine-period industrial (wine?) press of unusual size, Ottoman-period graves, a large late Ottoman-period well house and an irrigation channel. Most of the pottery found in fill accumulations throughout the compound dated to the Byzantine period, including mainly storage jars. Small ceramic assemblages from the Hellenistic, Roman, Early Islamic and Crusader periods, mostly unrelated to structures, were also found. The structures uncovered here furnish important insights regarding the historical development …

Remains From Middle Bronze Age Ii And The Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Late Ottoman And British Mandate Periods On Rabbi Yehuda Me-Raguza Street, Yafo (Jaffa) (Pp. 17–52), Yoav Arbel, Lior Rauchberger

'Atiqot

Eight excavation areas (A–G, J) were exposed, revealing seven strata dating from Middle Bronze Age II to the days of the British Mandate. The earliest find is an MB IIA infant jar burial—a significant find outside the boundaries of Tel Yafo. Burial graves from the Hellenistic, Roman and Crusader periods confirm that this street marked Yafo’s eastern limits in those times. The Hellenistic presence, probably under Ptolemaic rule, included scattered dwellings and farms with associated pottery dating from the late fourth to the second century BCE. The finds from the Byzantine period include a structure and pottery, reflecting a significant …

The Faunal Remains From Kefar Gabirol, El-Qubeibe (Pp. 209–223), Nimrod Marom

'Atiqot

The salvage excavation in Kefar Gvirol, el-Qubeibe, yielded a small faunal assemblage from late Ottoman-period domestic contexts. The faunal remains from the site were studied in terms of taxonomic composition, livestock demography and butchery practices, with reference to assemblage formation processes. The bones from the site provide a rare glimpse into livestock economy and consumption practices at a rural site of the period.

Remains From The Byzantine To The Late Ottoman–British Mandate Periods At Mazor (Pp. 67–123), Itamar Taxel, David Amit

'Atiqot

The excavations at Mazor yielded architectural remains from the Byzantine and late Ottoman–British Mandate periods, and poor remains from the Early Islamic and Mamluk–early Ottoman periods; the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods are represented by small finds only. Three buildings were exposed, typical of the Byzantine period in the region (mid-fifth–early sixth centuries CE), which belonged to either a private estate or an agricultural monastery. The settlement probably formed part of the eastern hinterland of the urban center at Lod (Lydda/Diospolis). The next substantial phase at the site began in the Ottoman period (eighteenth century CE), with the establishment of …

Ḥorbat ‘Ofrat In The Late Hellenistic, Roman And Byzantine Periods (Pp. 1–68), Yardenna Alexandre

'Atiqot

At the site, located near Shefar’am in the Lower Galilee, six architectural strata (VI–I) were discerned. Their dates range from the late Hellenistic to the late Byzantine/Early Islamic periods. During the late Hellenistic period (Hasmonean period; second century BCE), there was a small village at the site, which was possibly settled by Judean colonizers. The finds from the Early Roman period include Kefar Ḥananya wares and a few chalkstone vessel fragments, which hint at the Jewish identity of the inhabitants. In the Middle Roman period (third–fourth centuries CE), there was renewed activity at the site; the pottery forms, including Kefar …

Animal Bones From Ḥorbat Ṭarbenet (Pp. 185–190), Nimrod Marom

'Atiqot

Salvage excavations at Ḥorbat Ṭarbenet revealed animal-bone remains, which appear to represent fills dumped inside and around the hydraulic installations. Very few remains were recovered from Hellenistic–Early Roman loci, while a somewhat larger sample was obtained from Byzantine–Umayyad loci. The faunal assemblage comprises primarily beasts of burden, such as equids and camels. The high frequencies of fractures and carnivore gnawing marks indicate little human processing of bones for food and early discard.

Subterranean Complex 147 At Maresha: The Construction Phases Of The Columbarium (Pp. 37–48), Ian Stern, Bernie Alpert, Amos Kloner

'Atiqot

Excavations in Subterranean Complex 147 in Maresha revealed several building phases of the large columbarium. The fill within the installation consisted of pottery ranging in date from the Iron Age II through the Hellenistic period, mainly from the second century BCE. Columbaria had an important function in the lifestyle of the local population in the Judean Shephelah in general, and at Maresha in particular. This is connected with fact that pigeons were a source of food, a cultic offering, and their droppings were used as fertilizer.

A Site From The Roman And Byzantine Periods At Khirbat El-Burj (With Contributions By Robert Kool And Moshe Sade) (Hebrew, Pp. 1*–30*; English Summary, Pp. 167–169), Ilan Peretz, Pirhiya Nahshoni

'Atiqot

The site is located at the foot of the Hebron Hills, one kilometer south of Tell Beit Mirsim. Two areas were excavated (Areas A and B). In Area A, a row of three rooms, possibly associated with a Roman bathhouse, was exposed. The artifacts recovered from the fills and the floors included tubuli, ceramic tiles and segments of mosaic panels, as well as fragments of pottery and glass vessels, and three coins. These finds date mostly to the Late Roman and early Byzantine periods (end of third–fifth centuries CE). In Area B, the remains of a plastered installation, partly built …

A Thirteenth-Century Bce Site On The Southern Beach Of Ashdod (With Contributions By Yossi Nagar, Shlomit Israeli, Hamoudi Khalaily, Dror Segal And Israel Carmi, Dalia Hakker-Orion, Eldad Barzilay, Pirhiya Nahshoni And Eyal Tishler) (Pp. 59–122), Pirhiya Nahshoni

'Atiqot

The site is located approximately 4 km west of Tel Ashdod, about 50 m from the shoreline. Two areas were excavated: in Area A, installations identified as winepresses, as well as occupation levels, were found; in Area B, a mud-brick complex was uncovered. One tomb (T1) was discovered, and traces indicating the presence of other tombs were discerned north of the site. In the building and in the vicinity of the winepresses numerous pottery sherds were found, of locally-produced vessels, as well as Cypriot, Mycenean and Egyptian imports. Other finds included an Egyptian scarab, spindle whorls and loomweights, metal fishhooks, …

Remains Of A Byzantine And Early Islamic Rural Settlement At The Be’Er Sheva‘ North Train Station (With Contributions By Natalya Katsnelson And Moshe Sade) (Hebrew, Pp. 51*–76*; English Summary, Pp. 140–142), Yigal Israel, Gregory Seriy, Oded Feder

'Atiqot

Two areas were excavated, uncovering the remains of four buildings (Buildings 100, 200, 300 and 400). Building 100, a watchtower, was probably erected during the Byzantine period. Building 300, a farmhouse, included a kitchen, in which two ovens were constructed; numerous pottery vessels date the building to the late Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. The building also yielded fragments of glass vessels, a fragment of a small iron pruning-knife and archaezoological finds. Building 400, the corner of a farmhouse, included pottery from the end of the Byzantine period. Building 200, probably from the beginning of the Early Islamic period, included …